


Date Night

by sonictrowel



Series: Long Night in the Blue House [25]
Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: F/M, Fluff and Mush, Fluff and Smut, Romance, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-06
Updated: 2017-04-06
Packaged: 2018-10-15 12:00:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,521
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10555968
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sonictrowel/pseuds/sonictrowel
Summary: Honestly, Babyface had constantly hugged everyone, draped his arms over people’s shoulders and used them like furniture, kissed their heads (and, apparently, once kissed her father on the lips) when he got emotional or giddy.  But whenever he had his hands on her, it was much more personal.  Like he knew every touch they shared was special, so each one was the kind of touch that was only for her.  Even when he was so young he didn’t know her, when he leaned into her space and tapped her nose, it was with an intent in his eyes and a charge in the air between them that made her shiver.Not to say that River didn’t appreciate that very much, because oh, she did.  But there was also something to be said for a life that routinely included many hours of cuddling.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Unabashed mushy stuff featuring reminiscences of Eleven, dancing, and Twelve and River behaving badly. Somehow it got really long... hope you enjoy, lovely readers!

During their early years on Darillium, in the novelty of their new domesticity, it had been a bit too easy for River and the Doctor to get in the habit of never leaving the TARDIS.  River had done the part-time lecturing stint to keep her brains from rotting, and that turned out to be extremely fortuitous because it brought them Milly.  But teaching was never her priority.   _He_ was, simple as that.  They had so, so much time to make up for; so many missed moments over the long years of their marriage.  And finally, they had time together that was theirs alone.  Pure.

In a sense, until Darillium, River had never stopped dating her husband and started being married to him.  Of course they were devoted to each other, and held that promise above all else.  And sure, they’d bicker over silly things like an old married couple, like his driving or picking the restaurant for dinner (not an easy choice, with all of time and space on offer.)  They were utterly comfortable together, and they knew each other inside and out, knew all of each other’s foibles and secrets, and how to keep the other in check if they got a little out of control.  In that sense, they were very thoroughly married.

And yes, they shared a bedroom when they were together, and would sometimes spend days at a time tucked away in it.  But the Vortex wasn’t exactly a place to call home.  And much as the TARDIS felt like home, much as _he_ felt like home, it was always fleeting.  It was always fuelled by an urgency to experience as much as they could: of each other, of the universe, of everything; to keep running before time caught up with them.  It was always ending, and always too soon.

There had been far too few of the kind of calm, quiet, intimate moments that had become staples of their life on Darillium.  Honestly, Babyface had constantly hugged _everyone,_ draped his arms over people’s shoulders and used them like furniture, kissed their heads (and, apparently, once kissed her father on the lips) when he got emotional or giddy.  But whenever he had his hands on her, it was much more personal.  Like he knew every touch they shared was special, so each one was the kind of touch that was _only_ for her.  Even when he was so young he didn’t know her, when he leaned into her space and tapped her nose, it was with an intent in his eyes and a charge in the air between them that made her shiver.  

Not to say that River didn’t appreciate that very much, because _oh,_ she did.  But there was also something to be said for a life that routinely included many hours of cuddling.  The Doctor would certainly raise some objections to calling it that, but well, he could call it what he liked so long as she got to stay wrapped up in his arms, warm and totally at peace, listening to his heartbeats while he stroked her hair.

This life held so much of what they had always missed out on.  The lazy conversations in bed, when he kissed her like it was part of the language between them, like he couldn’t complete more than a few sentences without their lips getting more intimately involved in the exchange.  The casual “love you and do we need milk” messages and the vulnerable New Rule One confessions, saying what they’d have been too scared to say before.  A comfortable, stable routine that didn’t dull their passion for each other in the slightest.  Thousands of cups of tea, books they’d read to each other, meals he’d cooked for her, television they’d argued over, and a young woman they loved and missed, together.  Him walking with her the ten feet from the house to her car in negative fifteen weather so he could give her a goodbye kiss at the last moment.

So when the heavy snows began, they fully embraced spending every possible minute enjoying this new side of their marriage.  And before they really knew it, they’d spent the better part of more than a decade only setting foot out of doors when it was strictly necessary.  Time well spent, to be sure— but there were certain little things from the way it had once been that River did miss, every once in a while.  

She missed the giddy anticipation as she dressed before one of their dates, applying her lipstick and knowing full well it would be smeared all over his face before they made it to dinner.  Imagining how he’d react to her black lacy-topped stockings as she slid them up her thighs.  Waiting to hear the sound of the TARDIS brakes echoing in the prison corridor and setting her heart racing.  And then the sudden, glorious sight of him after what always felt like an eternity, even if it was only a day.  His boyish face beaming from ear to ear and his eyes dark, looking at her like he’d never loved or wanted anything so much in all his lives.

She’d practically throw herself into his arms, and sometimes they even made it to dinner before they undressed.  She loved the butterflies she still felt as they flirted and held each other’s stare over the table, loved the swell of warmth when he reached across to hold her hand.  She loved hanging on his arm and being a couple; how proud he was to introduce her as his wife to whatever random alien at a bar whose ear he’d started talking off while she ordered a drink.  She even loved when he took her dancing— he was a terrible dancer of course, but they had so much fun together that she really didn’t mind.

And now, the thaw on Darillium was slowly tapering, the night becoming darker and colder, and soon the heavy snows would once again make going out a major undertaking.  Wanting to take advantage of the mild weather for as long as it would last, River and the Doctor started going out more often.  Dinners, window shopping, coffee; whatever there was to do in the little town, just to get out of the house for a while.  River tried not to think about the fact that the next time the planet warmed again, it would be approaching dawn.  But there was another long winter to come before morning.  And before that _,_ the Doctor was taking her dancing.

They had their yearly Christmas reservation at the Towers, of course, but (caving on their last anniversary not withstanding,) it had been far too long since they’d had a proper date night anywhere else.  She insisted they get ready separately to preserve a little element of surprise, so the Doctor dutifully gathered his things and headed to some spare room in the recesses of the TARDIS to shower and dress.  River eventually found herself torn between a red dress and the green-gold one he’d given her on their wedding night.  She’d worn it so many times, but then again, it had been a very long time for him since he’d seen her in it.  And she was feeling nostalgic.

She left her hair down, curls soft and more than a little wild; she knew he loved that.  She chose emerald drop earrings and a delicate gold chain that linked to either side of a thin ring in the centre— a gift from him in their early years here, since he’d gotten awfully sentimental in his old age, and she wasn’t really the wedding ring type.  A spray of her perfume, a not- _too_ -red lipstick, and she slipped into her shoes and coat.

The Doctor was standing by the front doors when she walked into the hall, his long overcoat covering most of the interesting bits of his suit, but looking positively dashing anyway, with his thin face framed in swirling silver waves.  He rocked subtly forward and back on his feet when he saw her, his lips spreading into a smile, eyes glittering with warmth and one brow arching slightly.  It wasn’t the same expression he’d used to wear when he picked her up for their dates, but it had the same effect of making her feel wanted and adored and sending a little thrill up her spine.

“Nice dress,” he said, turning to stand beside her and offering his arm.

“Why thank you darling,” River replied lightly, taking it with exaggerated formality and grinning at him.

“Ooh, look at the Songs all fancied up!” said Nardole, who’d evidently come to investigate.

“You’re manning the ship tonight, Nardole,” said the Doctor.  “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”

“Right,” he replied cheerfully, and then immediately appeared to reconsider.

River leaned aside and lowered her voice as if the Doctor couldn’t hear her perfectly well.  “I wouldn’t try to analyse that statement if I were you.”

“And don’t wait up,” the Doctor called, as they headed out the doors.

___

Their destination for the evening was a relatively new installment in the little town centre, a sort of upscale wine bar/restaurant with a little stage for live music and a small dance floor.  Inside it was dark, tables candle-lit and cosy, and the band was just setting up.  They had booked a table for two in the corner, and when they went to sit down, the Doctor leaned in far closer than was necessary to take her coat.  He murmured into her ear over the low hum of conversation filling the space.

“You look beautiful, dear.  And I _do_ know that.  I’m blind to a lot of things, but not you.”

River couldn’t help a delighted little laugh.  “Well, you’re quite the charmer tonight, sweetie,” she said, a bit breathless.

He shrugged amiably as he took his seat across from her.  “Just stating a fact.”  

She couldn't stop grinning at him.  She noted he had on the red velvet jacket, and it might not quite be a suit, but she did love that one very much.

“This isn’t one of those posh locally-whatsit places, is it?" he asked, finally breaking their gaze to look over the wine list.  "Can’t imagine the conditions here are conducive to anything grape-related.”

“I think they get the grapes from off-planet and make the wine here,” River said, glancing down at the menu.

“Could be alright then, I suppose.  Your pick.”

“Mmm," she looked up at him again and smiled, "something red.”

The food and the wine turned out to be excellent, and the four-piece band started up while they were still finishing their meal, and they weren’t too terrible either.

“You should see if you can play here, darling,” River said, sliding her foot against his calf under the table.  “They’re not bad, but you’re much better than their guitarist.”

“I don’t know… this seems like more of an…” he looked around to either side, “...acoustic venue.  And it’s not as if I have a band.”

“You could be a solo act.”

“Ah, well you know how terribly that always goes, dear.”  He gave her a soft little smile.

The corner of River’s mouth turned up at that, and she reached across the table to squeeze his hand.  He held onto hers.

Three of the musicians on stage shuffled off to the back after the song ended, while the singer sat down at the piano.  On the third note of _My Chérie Amour,_ River broke into a giddy grin.

“Did you do this?”

The Doctor raised his eyebrows and shrugged slightly, but he was already standing from his seat, smiling and still holding her hand.

They walked out onto the little floor amidst a few other pairs who had already been dancing.  Lacing their fingers together and raising their joined hands, the Doctor rested his other hand at the small of her back, pulling her in close.  River happily leaned into him, pressing her cheek against his.

“This is nice,” she sighed as they slowly turned and swayed.  

He hummed contentedly in agreement and turned his head slightly to kiss her cheek.  River bit her lip, but she was grinning like a besotted fool over his shoulder anyway.

“And you’re not even stepping on my feet,” she teased, bringing her arm in tighter around his shoulder so she could toy with the hair at the nape of his neck.

“Told you— skills,” the Doctor said, his voice low and warm in her ear.  “And to be fair, the first time we tried dancing to this song we were in ice skates.  That’s not just dancing, that’s an actual Olympic event.  I didn’t have proper training.”

River giggled.  “And all the other times?”

“Well— let’s just appreciate what we have now, eh?”

“Oh, believe me, I do,” she said warmly, nuzzling her cheek against his.  “Do these new skills extend to anything more fast-paced?”

“Guess we’ll see.”

"Haven't been doing much dancing in my absence, then?  Surely you've attended a wedding or two in the past thousand years."

"Nah," he said softly.  "Needed my partner."

River pulled back to look at him when their song ended, seeing the same love and tenderness and nostalgia she felt reflected in his eyes.  She kissed him while the rest of the band was taking their places again.

The next song did turn out to be more fast-paced, and she was delighted that the Doctor kept up with her.

“The dancing must come along with the music,” she half-shouted to him over the band, breathless and grinning.  “Now I wonder if you can sing as well?”

“Let’s not be greedy,” the Doctor said,  “I had to have _some_ of my talents distributed elsewhere.”

“Oh, I’d say they’ve been very well... _distributed,”_ she purred as she came in close to him again.

He raised an eyebrow at her and she laughed, not breaking his gaze even as they moved, his eyes full of warmth and humour and promise.

___

They were nearly the last to leave at the end of the night, the lights coming up and staff bringing out brooms as they slipped on their coats.  It had been a completely, perfectly wonderful evening, but oh, River’s feet were feeling it as she tottered back to the car, hanging on the Doctor’s arm as they laughed together.  

“Alright, honey?” he asked, when she must have winced visibly.

“Just the heels.”  There was a time when she'd have never admitted such a mundane human vulnerability to him as sore feet.  They'd really been idiots, hadn't they?

“Ah, well, almost there,” the Doctor said, but then he abruptly stepped in front of her, reached down to grab her dress around her knees, and shimmied the skirt up to her thighs.  Before she could even ask him what he thought he was doing in the middle of a carpark, he slid his hands under her rear and scooped her up.  She let out a little squeak of surprise and laughed as she wrapped her arms and legs around him, tucked her head into his shoulder, and hung on tight while he carried her to the car.

He paused once they got to it, hesitating.

“You can put me down now, sweetie,” she laughed.

“No, no, I’ve got it,” he mumbled, shifting her weight to one arm while bending at the knees, and the car door clicked open.

River yelped and laughed again as she felt herself tilting back more than expected, only to find he’d lowered her across the back seat, following her on his knees.

“Don’t think I could put you down sitting up without hitting your head on the doorframe,” he explained, “and in the front you’d wind up with the gearstick in your back."

“Mmm,” she replied, as he kneeled over her in the back of her car with her skirt rucked up nearly to her hips and her thighs around him.  “Really.”

“Well— maybe I didn’t quite think it all the way through…”

“Shut the door,” she said, her voice low, and scooted farther back across the seat to make room for him, slipping out of her coat.

The Doctor raised an eyebrow and his lips twitched into a smile before he reached behind him and closed the door, shrugging off his coat and jacket after her example.

“Been a while since we’ve been in one of these... _situations,”_ she murmured as he crawled over her.

“Because we have a perfectly nice bed in our house where we have plenty of room and no risk of arrest for indecent exposure.”

“Don’t pretend you don’t like it,” she teased, raising her hips, and encountering evidence that he liked it very much indeed.

“Never said I didn’t,” he growled into her ear, before nipping at her earlobe.

River grinned and squirmed under him, grabbing his face in her hands and bringing their lips together.

As they kissed, the mood quickly shifted from teasing to urgent.  She felt heat spreading low in her belly as the Doctor’s tongue swept into her mouth and his hands gripped and caressed her through the fabric of her dress.  He supported himself on one arm while the other slipped under her skirt, and he hummed before pulling away just enough to speak.

“No knickers,” he grumbled, giving her a scolding look, though his lips twitched tellingly.

“They’d only have gotten in the way,” she said breathlessly, and pulled his mouth back down to hers.

There was only the sound of laboured breathing and their lips occasionally parting for about half a second at a time, while the Doctor’s hand was doing _wonderful_ things between her outspread thighs.  But River was feeling terribly impatient, and all that stood between them was the zip on his trousers.  She quickly took care of that, sliding them down along with his pants, and encouraging him to come closer.

“If anyone comes through this carpark they’re going to see my pasty Scottish arse and then we can never come back here,” he muttered into her ear, his breath stuttering as she gripped and stroked him firmly.

River let out a throaty laugh.  “Better make it a quick one, then.”  She nudged aside his hand to guide them together and covered his mouth with hers again.

The Doctor moaned as he pushed smoothly into her in one sure stroke.  She hummed in satisfaction at the sweet stretch, a wave of heat rushing through her body, her muscles already grasping at him. She quickly began rolling her hips in counterpoint to his, pleasure bursting over her senses each time they crashed back together.

After a few heady minutes of swallowing each other's cries in desperate kisses, River broke away, gasping for breath, and the Doctor lowered himself closer, letting her take on more of his weight.  She couldn’t stop herself from moaning loudly at each deep thrust, the impact rippling through her in waves of ecstasy.

“You’re going to get us caught,” he panted in her ear, though he didn't sound terribly concerned.

 _“Mmmh,”_ she replied, lost to the world.

His lips moved over the side of her neck, his hot mouth sucking and nibbling at her skin.  The sudden combined sensation, with the warm weight of him on her chest and his breathing in her ear and the thrill of behaving like a couple of reckless teenagers again, was almost too much.

“Oh, darling, I love you,” she gasped, “a little more— just like that—” and then she threw her head back and he had to quickly cover her mouth with his hand to prevent their discovery.

River returned to her senses just in time to hold him tight as his body drew taut above her and he kissed her with desperate passion, shuddering and moaning into her mouth.

They lay collapsed in place, still basically completely dressed, panting, while River slowly stroked the Doctor’s hair.

“D’you think we’re safe?” she asked eventually, her voice hoarse.

“Dunno,” he mumbled, kissing the skin just above the low neckline of her dress.

“I’m afraid you’ll have to check first, I’m a bit incapacitated at the moment.”

He groaned in protest, but finally lifted his head with a heavy sigh, leaning up to kiss her before sitting back and righting his trousers.  He peered out of the windows, scanning the empty carpark.

“Coast is clear,” he said.  “If anyone got an eyeful they just kept going.”

“Well, if they did it was their lucky night,” River teased.

He lifted an eyebrow at her and opened the door, climbing awkwardly out from his half-kneeling position on the seat.  He walked round the back to her side and helped her up, and they somehow wound up snogging against the car for a good five more minutes before they heard the back door of the restaurant open.  They quickly split apart, and the Doctor rushed over to the passenger’s side, ducking into the door as a confused employee in an apron with a bin bag in hand stared at them.

He hunched his shoulders and laughed as the employee tossed his bag in the bin and returned to the building.  

“Where to next?” he asked as River started the car.

“You think that ice cream shop is still open?”

“Worth a try.”

It was open, and the Doctor held both of their cones, doing drip control, while River drove them out to an open, dusty plot outside of town with a clear view of the stars.  They climbed up on the bonnet and watched the sky, huddled together in their coats with the ice cream freezing their faces.  Two of Darillium’s little moons were nearly full, and the rings were bright in the waning light of Delta Nembus.  River saw a smear of chocolate at the corner the Doctor’s mouth and decided to take care of it with her own, and they got distracted again for a while.

___

They stumbled back into the TARDIS, not tipsy— the wine had worn off by the time they finished dancing— but laughing and thoroughly worn out.  River kicked off her shoes and stretched her poor sore feet, and then she noticed the Doctor looking at her.  His eyes were soft, and he had that very subtle little smile tugging at his lips.

“What is it, darling?” she asked as she slid out of her coat.

He shrugged.  “You.”

Then they stumbled all the way down the corridor, too, because they were too busy snogging to see where they were going.

Once in the bedroom, they broke apart and went to change for bed.  The Doctor unzipped River’s dress for her, kissing her shoulder as he slid her strap down.  She hung the dress in the wardrobe and pulled on her comfortable cotton pyjamas, blatantly admiring her husband as he just stripped down to his pants for bed.

He hugged her from behind with one arm and occasionally pulled a goofy face at her while they brushed their teeth in front of the bathroom mirror.

They were just about to switch off the sunlamps when the sound of a phone ringing echoed through the room.  River had wired the TARDIS phone into a few rooms in the house so they could hear it.

“Who the fuck is phoning us at— whatever time it is?”

“Considering they’re likely on another planet….”

“Okay, but, if someone’s calling cause a world is ending, I’m not going, and that’s going to reflect poorly on me.”

“It could be Milly,” River said.

“Pick up,” the Doctor called, and the ringing stopped.  “Hello?”

“Hey, it’s me!” Milly’s cheerful voice projected into the room.  River’s heart leapt.

“Hey kiddo, you’re on speaker,” the Doctor responded immediately.

“Milly, how are you?” River asked.

“Oh, hi Professor!  I’m doing well, been doing some travelling with my family, not rushing into the job search quite yet.  Thought I might get in some of those adventures first.”

“Manage to find anything terribly adventurous even with your parents in tow?  Then, that was never a problem for me…”

Milly snorted.  “You’d be surprised.”

“Any work on ah, publishing that dissertation?” the Doctor asked.

River raised an eyebrow at him for his sudden interest, and he shrugged.

“Not yet, I’m waiting til things settle down a bit and I’m in one place,” she said.  “How are you lot?  How’s Nardole?”

“Can’t complain,” the Doctor responded, smiling at River.  “Nardole’s asleep but he’s, well, as he ever is.  I’ll tell him you said hi.”

“Oh, no, I didn’t check the time— with the light-years and the relativity and everything it gets a bit...hairy, when you’re in a rush.  Didn’t wake you up, did I?”

“No, we just got home in fact,” River said, grinning.  “The Doctor took me out dancing.”

 _“You_ dance, Mr. Song?” Milly said, sounding incredulous and possibly impressed.

“Don’t make a habit of it,” he grumbled, “but under the right circumstances…”

River beamed at him.  

“I can _hear_ the mush,” Milly groaned.  “Stop being cute.”

“I shan’t,” the Doctor said primly, and River burst out laughing as she sat down next to him on the bed.

“Well really, I’m glad to hear you’re still enjoying that old rock.  Is it snowing yet?”

“We’ve probably got a good few months to go,” River said, “but it is getting colder again.”

“You keeping out of trouble, Mils?” the Doctor asked, sounding a touch more serious than he had for the rest of their conversation.

“When it suits me,” she replied flippantly.  He rolled his eyes.

“Actually I have to get going,” she said regretfully, “but it was brilliant getting to catch up, sorry I couldn’t talk longer.”

“It was wonderful to hear from you, Milly,” River said, smiling wistfully.  “Take care, and really, phone us any time.”

“Yeah, you heard, I actually answered the phone,” the Doctor said, and River raised an eyebrow and stared at him dully.  He stuck his tongue out and she cracked a smile in spite of herself.

“Noted,” Milly laughed.  “Alright, must be off.  Bye.  Love you.”  The call abruptly disconnected and left the room in silence.

They switched off the lights and slid under the sheets, immediately seeking each other out in the dark.  River sighed against the Doctor's chest while he wrapped himself all around her, stroking her hair and muttering to her.

“I love you, honey.  I hope you had a nice night.”

“It was wonderful, darling.  You’re wonderful.”

She tilted her head up to him and he kissed her softly.

“Glad we got to talk to Mils,” he said.

River nodded, not sure if happiness or longing was the dominant emotion she was feeling.  It was all a bit jumbled.

“Are you sleepy?” the Doctor asked.

“Very,” she said, nuzzling her nose into his shoulder.

“Then goodnight, love,” he whispered into her hair as he squeezed her tight.

“Love you,” River murmured, reflecting briefly that, despite her two centuries of experience to the contrary, perhaps it could just be possible to have everything, for a little while.  She slipped quickly into a deep, dreamless sleep.


End file.
